|
|
IRS Fails as a Tax Adviser
The Internal Revenue Service conducted a study of the quality of telephone advice it provides to taxpayers. It found that only 27% of callers actually received complete answers to their questions. Almost three quarters of callers were denied service, told to call back later, or had an excessive waiting time and simple hung up before speaking with a representative.
Of those few callers that received complete answers, the answers given by IRS representatives to tax law questions were correct only 50% of the time.
Taxpayers are often surprised to learn that they are not protected by relying on advise from an IRS employee. Only a private tax adviser can warranty the reliability of their advice, and the warranty is limited to the specific remedy offered by the adviser. This might be representation at no additional charge to resolve an issue in dispute or a return of the fee. A taxpayer can rarely be protected from tax liability due to incorrect advice.
Tony Novak is an independent writer and financial adviser in Narberth PA who provides OnlineAdviser services through MedSave.com and FreedomBenefits.org |
Irs Related News
Tax Tip 38: IRS Toll-free Help (Daily Record)Free tax help from the IRS is just a phone call away. The IRS provides various services through its toll-free telephone numbers. Some of these services are available 24 hours a day.
How To Eliminate IRS Debt (Evening Times)(ARA) - They say there are two things you can count on in life -- death and taxes. There's no getting around it - if you don't pay your taxes, Uncle Sam will come after you.
IRS Says Not Enough Electronic Returns Filed (Telegraph)The IRS has a technology problem. The number of individual taxpayers who electronically file federal tax returns is growing annually, but tens of millions of people still mail theirs. Last year, almost 73 percent of paper tax returns were prepared on a computer, printed out and mailed in.
|
Related Articles
- IRS Reacts to High Gas Prices
As most small businesses are aware, a tax deduction can be taken for mileage incurred in normal business travel. In light of high gas prices, the IRS has upped the mileage rate. Major IncreaseNothing is...
- Last-Minute Tax Help
Even if in most cases people dont want to hear about the word "taxes" until March, preparing early and staying organized will give you no headaches later. But, for most of the people, the deadline is...
- How Likely Are You To Be Audited?
Statistics for IndividualsUnfortunately, the IRS increased its rate of auditing individuals in 2003 when compared to 2002. The increase was approximately 14%, but still constituted only 6.5 audits for...
- Tax fraud and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Tools
What is tax fraud, and how does our government control it? Thats a really big question to answer, so lets break it apart and answer it in two different paragraphs. Tax fraud is the intentional avoidance...
- The Internal Revenue Service
Do you ever wonder, how a country that revolted because of the unfair taxation of tea, came to be under the tight control of the Internal Revenue System? It seems kind of ironic, doesnt it, that the very...
- Getting a Tax Credit for Your Kids
As you know, raising a family is a full time job and can put stress on your finances. Fortunately, you can claim a tax credit to help cut your IRS bill if you have kids.Getting a Tax Credit for Your KidsWith...
- Tax Quotes and Jokes for Tax Season
Like death, paying taxes is inevitable. In the case of most Americans, tax season is just around the corner. If only paying taxes was so easy.As you begin pulling out those receipts, the eraser and reading...
- Innocent Spouses - Relief from Taxes
Historically, tax issues arising from bad marriages fell into the category of "better or worse" for marriages. The IRS granted no innocent spouse tax relief, but has changed its views.Tax ReliefWhen a...
- Identity Theft - Impacting Your Taxes?
If your identity is stolen, your finances can quickly become a nightmare. A less obvious problem is the effect identity theft can have on your taxes.Identity TheftGenerally, thieves steal your personal...
- Low-Tax States Have Stronger Economies
A new study of state tax burdens ound that low-tax states outperform the higher tax states in employment, personal income and population.The report, entitled "High Taxes Lower Economic Performance," was...
- Failure To Pay Employment Taxes - Penalties
As an employer, you must pay employment taxes if you have employees. Fail to pay and the IRS will rain all over your parade. PenaltiesIf you have employees, you absolutely must deduct and withhold various...
- Earnings From Abroad and Taxes
With the every expanding global economy, many people receive earnings from foreign entities. Unfortunately, the federal government wants you to pay taxes on it. Taxes on Your Earnings From AbroadThe federal...
- Deciding when to File a Tax Return?
April 15th - "The Day of Reckoning"! Every year, millions of Americans get ready to pay taxes to Uncle Sam, or get ready to collect a tax refund from Uncle Sam; when did this become the great day that...
- How To Prepare Your Income Tax Return
The first step in your income tax preparation is to work out your total income. A persons total income includes many kinds of receipts such as wages, interest, alimony, lottery winnings and many more....
- Employment Taxes - Depositing With The IRS
If your business has employees, you must pay employment taxes. The payment system can be a bit confusing, so this article discusses how to go about depositing employment taxes with the IRS.Depositing Employment...
- A Big Tax Loophole Just Got Bigger
Believe it or not, there are ways to convert taxable incomeinto non-taxable income, without any fear of an IRS audit.Heres one of my favorites. Its been part of our belovedtax code for over 30 years,...
- Roth IRA Contributions
Confused about whether you can contribute to a Roth IRA? Try using these simple rules:IncomeTo contribute to a Roth IRA, you must have compensation (e.g., wages, salary, tips, professional fees, bonuses)....
- Tax Tips for IT Consultants and Contractors
I live and work, quite literally, down the road from the main Microsoft campus. No surprise, then, that Im commonly asked by freelance consultants for the best ways that these self-employed independent...
- Thinking of using Dubai as an offshore jurisdiction?
Think Again! Read below for a comparison.This is an interesting jurisdiction. In Dubai there are no taxes of any sort one has to contend with, so there is no tax filing and no tax audits, etc. Most offshore...
- How to Save Taxes with an S Corporation
How to Save Taxes with an S CorporationEver wondered why so many small businesses--more than 3,000,000 at last count--operate as an S corporation? Simple. An S corporation saves business owners big taxes...
- IPA Reveals CPA Firm Trends, Record Growth
Sept 12, 2006 — The nations 100 largest public accounting firms saw fees grow a record-breaking 16.5 percent for fiscal year 2005-2006, and all 100 experienced positive growth, according to a new report....
- Choosing A Business Tax Service
There are a number of ways that you can find tax services companies. The yellow pages is a good place to start for companies in your area but, depending on where you live, the list of names may be extremely...
- Tax Fraud
What is tax fraud, and how does our government control it? Thats a really big question to answer, so lets break it apart and answer it in two different paragraphs. Tax fraud is the intentional avoidance...
- Do You Need Life Insurance
It can be very difficult to decide if you need life insurance. Life insurance can be an extremely onerous financial commitment and investment, and it will also last for a considerable period of time, so...
- Income Tax Season
The tax season for most all individual tax payers falls during January, February, and March each year. Its the time of year that most citizens look forward to receiving a refund or they dread because...
- Family Limited Partnership Overview, Part II
Income Tax BenefitsFLPs also provide a number of valuable income tax benefits to the partners. Among these benefits are the following:* Allows pass through of items of income, expense, credit and deduction...
- New Support For Website and Graphic Design Firms
Professional web and graphic designers work very hard for their fee, theres no doubt about it. With these professionals working hard to provide great client service, meet strict deadlines, be creative...
- W-2s
There has never been a more welcomed term in the adult taxpayers life, than the invention of the W-2 and January 31st; lets take a moment to examine the W-2, and what it really means to the average taxpayer....
- A Quick Guide To Payroll Tax
The term Payroll tax actually includes the Social Security tax, Medicare tax and Federal income tax. The Social Security tax provides benefits for retired workers, the disabled their dependents and it...
- What is a Dependent?
Other than fitting the description of a constant liability, what other qualifying attributes must one have, to be classed as a dependent, and how do you determine this for tax purposes? The following paragraphs...
- Do You Need Life Insurance
It can be very difficult to decide if you need life insurance. Life insurance can be an extremely onerous financial commitment and investment, and it will also last for a considerable period of time, so...
- What To Do If You Didn't Get a Form 1099
If you earned revenues as an independent contractor in 2005, you should have received a 1099 Form for the work. So, what if you havent received one? What To Do If You Didnt Get a Form 1099If you earned...
- Tax Software Alternatives
There are many different tax programs, which are adequate to different kinds of needs, so the users have various options. For taxpayers with more complex tax situations, TurboTax software would be the...
- Refund Anticipation Loans -- More Harm than Help
If someone offered to give you a loan for $2100 at interest rates of up to 222 percent youd probably laugh at them and walk away; but, this spring, 1 in 10 Americans will do just that: for the privilege...
- IRS Audit - A True Story
Who does not fear an IRS audit? We all do. We all fear the face to face, exhausting, unpredictable and time consuming interaction with the Internal Revenue Services agent.We all have that scary feeling...
- New for 2006, the Roth 401k Plan
One of the new tax strategies available in 2006 is the Roth 401k. A taxpayer may place up to $15,000 ($20,000 if age 50 or older) in a Roth 401k instead of a regular 401k plan in 2006. The 401k plan needs...
- Capital Gains Tax
The current tax system imposed on corporations by the U.S. government is at best, a biased system; for corporations that have a net profit, taxes on those profits amount to a full one-third. So, if youre...
- Fraudulent Tax Shelters - KMPG Goes Down Hard
In the largest criminal tax case ever filed, KMPG has copped a plea to using fraudulent tax shelters to bilk the government out of 2.5 billion dollars. KMPG has agreed to pay a fine of $456 million dollars,...
- Tax Invoice
A tax invoice is a legal document that offers a look at what the GST is for a transaction. Read on to learn about your obligations for issuing, holding, and supplying the different types of tax invoices.You...
- How The Gift Tax Works
Each year millions of Americans give a gift to other individuals that they know. Gifts can be considered anything from a new vehicle, to a trip, to a piece of land. A gift tax is a tax that is imposed...
- Social Security and Our Current Tax System
Every week that you work, there are taxes deducted from your gross payroll that are distributed to the Social Security Administration, along with other programs administered by the government. Of all the...
- 1099-MISC Forms For Independent Contractors for 2005
As we begin 2005, youre probably not thinking about taxes at all. This is a mistake as deadlines are approaching for issuing and filing 1099s to independent contractors.What is a 1099 MISC?Generally speaking,...
- Convert To Roth IRA Regardless of Income - 2010
An odd quirk in the recent legislation to extend the Bush Tax Cuts is giving IRA holders a huge break. For one year, and one year only, the income cap will be gone. Convert To Roth IRA Regardless of Income...
- The History of the Internal Revenue Service
Do you ever wonder, how a country that revolted because of the unfair taxation of tea, came to be under the tight control of the Internal Revenue System? It seems kind of ironic, doesnt it, that the very...
- Tax Fraud Attorneys
Tax fraud is a white collar crime involving offenses like tax evasion, non filing of tax returns, non declaration of income and assets, misrepresentation of conditions for exemption, forgery, and any other...
- When to use Quicken for Mutual Fund Recordkeeping
While you might assume any mutual fund investor should use Quickens mutual fund record-keeping tools, that isnt the case. Because investment record keeping, including mutual fund record keeping, requires...
- Know A Tax Cheat? Get Paid To Tell The IRS
According to the IRS, taxpayers underpay their taxes by some $300 billion. If you know someone that is contributing to that deficit, the IRS may be willing to pay you up to $10 million for the information...
- Income Tax Software - The Best Ones On The Market
There are several income tax software programs available on the market to help you complete your yearly taxes. These programs offer tax tips, checklists, and error checking messages to ensure that required...
| | |
